Love Island: Big hit, brand safe?
To date, Love Island has been a runaway success in attracting millennial and Gen Z eyeballs to TV and big brands are flocking in. But are they properly assessing risk versus reward? (Marketing Week)
Key points
- Global hit for ITV Studios, now franchised to 11 countries including Australia
- UK version has £5m sponsorship from Uber Eats, plus packages for Unilever, Superdrug, Samsung among others
- But two former contestants have died within the last year, prompting other former contestants to criticise lack of care for participants
- ITV2 has now implemented new duty of care guidelines and support for contestants after they leave the show
Love Island is in the spotlight, but the application of duty of care rules across the reality TV genre is the broader debate, given its inexorable rise.
Seven aired the issue last month, interviewing former reality contestants - of other networks, namely Nine's - on its Sunday Night show on 19th May.
David Knox of TV Tonight suggested Seven may be wise to also consider its own reality shows, but summed up the issue succinctly: "The broader point of ‘what will it take before new guidelines are put in place?’ is a valid question."
Knox warns that the chase for ratings could end badly - and that "sensible" production people have to "draw a line in the sand", or FreeTV and ACMA must intervene on guidelines "sooner rather than later".
Something for brands to chew on too.
